Bones in the Backyard
by ForbiddenDreams13
Summary: A collection of horror stories starring the cast of Yu Yu Hakusho! Come in, come in! We've got it all! From skin walkers to killers, and even a deep web experience! The Yu Yu gang have quite a few creepy stories to share with you.
1. Shizuru: We Don't Go into the Basement

**Hey readers! Welcome to this little collection of one-shots. As the summary stated. These are horror stories that borrow the Yu Yu characters. Think of this as an exercise in my favorite genre, similar to "Underground."**

 **As always, thank you for reading, and please feel free to leave a review.**

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Before my mother passed away, my family and I lived in a two story house located in a small neighborhood that was near the city park. While not large, there was more than enough room for my parents, myself, and my infant brother. Three bedrooms, a cozy, carpeted den and a kitchen with an island. The house even had a sizable backyard that I could run around in. It couldn't have been more perfect. Except, that is, for the basement. I know, I know, creepy basements are rather cliché, but the entire room was just…strange. No matter how much air freshener my mother sprayed, it always smelled like damp earth. As if someone had left one of the windows open after it rained. We also never had any bug problems. No spiders, no cockroaches, no centipedes, but for some reason, my dad and I were always finding a rather large accumulation of dead flies on the window sills. Every week we would have to go down and sweep away a carpet of tiny black bodies. Dad always just laughed it off, saying that we must have had one very lazy wolf spider who didn't finish his meals.

I never disagreed with my father, but his explanation never made any sense. After all, wouldn't we be finding the carcasses on the floor as opposed to the window sills? Whenever I had to go down by myself, I could never shake the feeling of being watched. Sometimes, when I would get up in the middle of the night to get a glass of water, or use the bathroom, I would hear strange scuffling noises coming from the basement. Once, when my dad sent me down to grab something he'd left, I saw the bottle of glass cleaner my mother kept down there had been opened and spilled all over the floor. My parents however, never shared my trepidations, and my dad set up a card table down there and would sometimes have his friends over on the weekends where they would play all sorts of card games late into the night.

So, late one afternoon while my dad was at work, my mother gets a wild hair and decided it was a great day to deep clean the whole house, top to bottom. Being a typical kid, I didn't want to partake in an endless series of chores, but my mother managed to talk me into it. After a couple hours of vacuuming bedrooms and dusting every surface on the upper and ground floors, my mother went off to prepare dinner but not before giving me the order to clean the basement. She also asked me to take my brother down with me so I could keep an eye on him. I didn't want head in to the basement, but having Kazuma made me feel somewhat reassured. And so, with my baby brother in my arms, I managed to snag a broom and trekked down into the basement. Once there, I set Kazuma down, placing him over by the far wall beneath a window.

It's here I should mention that the basement had a stone floor with only a few furnishings, those being the card table and a few chairs. The room only spanned half the house, with a small, sort of walk-in closet sized room in the far back. Since we never kept anything in there, Mom saw no reason to keep the door closed. This made going into the basement even more eerie because the first thing you saw was that small, dark room staring back at you from across the basement.

At any rate, once getting my brother situated, I moved the table and chairs and got to work sweeping the floor. About ten minutes had passed when I noticed Kazuma had begun to fuss. Thinking that he might have been tired, I ignored him and kept sweeping. However, his fussing only grew worse until he broke out into these horrible, blood-curdling wails. Shrill enough to shatter glass, these weren't the normal cries of a fussy baby. Whipping around, I saw my brother sitting against the wall, wailing, and pointing. I followed the direction of his finger and found he was pointing towards the small room. As I stared into that dark little chamber, I could feel something watching me from inside. Clutching the broom, I stared back, paralyzed by fear. Kazuma let loose another cry and the door slammed shut. Taking that as my cue, I threw the broom to the ground, grabbed my brother, and ran upstairs. My mother met me in the kitchen doorway, as she had heard my brother's screams and became concerned. I explained everything. My mother frowned, not sure if she wanted to believe me. However, seeing her two children terrified out of their minds, my mother decided she'd go downstairs to investigate. After minutes that passed like hours, she came back upstairs, face drawn and a bit pale. She took my brother from me and led me into the kitchen, bidding me to sit at the table. I did, and she sat across from me. Reaching forward, she took hold of my hands and held them for a long time. Finally, she looked me dead in the eyes and said,

"Shizuru, from now on, we don't go into the basement."

I could only stare back at her and nod, too scared and confused to question her. My father came home shortly after. Later that night after I had gone to bed, I could hear my mom talking to my dad in the kitchen. I'm not sure what she said, but the very next day, dad moved the card table and chairs from the basement to the far corner of the den. Mom never told me what she saw. A couple months later, my mother fell ill and passed away. Finding it hard to move on, surrounded by so many memories, my father sold the house and we moved to a small house further in the city. A few years later, I was passing through the park and on a whim decided to visit my old neighborhood. While walking the streets, I came upon my old house. In the driveway sat a pale blue Hyundai. Curious, I walked up to the door and knocked. I stood on the front step, waiting for the door, admiring the rose garden that they'd put in. The door opened and a dark-haired woman looking to be in her early forties blinked, surprised to see a teenager standing on her doorstep. I smiled and introduced myself, explaining that I used to live in the house. The woman smiled back at me and we made small talk about the neighborhood, how good the neighbors were, the convenience of its location, etc. Eventually, my curiosity overcame me and I asked her if she'd ever experienced anything strange while down in the basement. When I asked her that question, the woman sort of jumped as if I'd shocked her. She dropped her gaze to her feet and remained silent for a few minutes. Finally, she looked back up at me, and in a small, timid voice replied,

"My…my husband and I…we don't go into the basement."

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 **Well? How was it? Drop me a line, guys!**


	2. Kuwabara: The Girl with the Shopping Bag

**Hello there everyone! I'd like to pause before we get into this and thank Just 2 Dream of You for reviewing the first chapter. You rock! Now, at any rate, let's go further down the rabbit hole shall we?**

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This happened to me a couple years ago, during my first year of middle school. It still sends shivers down my spine whenever I think about it.

It was in the late fall, that gloomy time when all the bright colors adorning the trees rot away to an unwholesome brown and the rain falls in crystalline sheets that turn to a thin layer of ice overnight. After being set free from school by the ringing of the last bell, my friends and I booked it to the arcade where we proceeded to waste over an hour immersing ourselves in a world of eight-bit sounds and colors. Pac-Man, Mortal Kombat, Samurai Showdown, we took down virtual enemy after virtual enemy, one friend playing while the other three watched and cheered him on. Feeling invincible, Kirishima suggested we try out Area 51. However, the game was quick to remind us of our frail status as mortals as none of us lasted more than ten minutes. Disappointed by the crushing defeat, we decided it was high time to go home.

As we emerged from the technological cave of wonders, the setting sun bathed us in a thick layer of saffron. People milled about on the street. Men dressed in sharp suits, women in wool coats, high school students dashing home or to cram school, clutching their books looking like an older version of Charlie with a thicker golden ticket. Standing in the dusty yellow haze of waning fall light, my friends and I bid each other goodbye, them going one way, I heading off, alone, in the other. I had only gone a few blocks when I noticed her. Standing outside of a coffee shop, glancing left and right and fidgeting every so often was a young woman holding a canvas shopping bag. Small of frame and pale-skinned, she had dirty blonde hair that reached just a little past her shoulders, framing her elfin face and complimenting her hazel eyes. I remember stopping dead in my tracks and just staring. _She sure is pretty,_ I thought to myself, eyes dropping down to the bag she gripped in her hands. It hung down in front of her knees, a deep seafoam green that, judging by how swollen it looked had to be stuffed pretty full. The woman kept having to readjust her grip, so I assumed the bag had to be pretty heavy too. Every now and then, she would stare into the throng of people trickling by and bite her thumb nail. She had an anxious look on her face. Concerned, I walked over and asked her if she was okay. The moment the question left my lips, she jumped back, looking like a frightened fawn ready to bolt. I apologized for scaring her and she seemed to calm down. I asked her again if she was okay and she told me that she was. An awkward pause ensued. Berating myself for disturbing her, I turned and went to walk away. Before I could take a single step, the woman lunged forward and grabbed my arm, begging me not to go. Confused, I could only stare at her. Where the hell had that come from?

She let go, apologizing profusely. She then proceeded to explain that she had gone shopping earlier today, but had taken longer than anticipated as she had had to go to several different markets to find ingredients for a particular recipe.

"I live somewhat far from here, so by the time I get close to home, it'll be dark," she shook her head, looking down at her clenched hands, "I don't want to walk home alone in the dark," she whimpered.

I've always been a sucker for damsels in distress, and to me this woman was no different. Assuming a gentleman's pose, I offered to walk her home. I mean, what kind of guy would I be if I just abandoned this poor, frightened waif? Her eyes lit up, glowing like two trapped stars. She introduced herself as Iriko and thanked me, calling me her knight in shining armor.

"There's no need to thank me ma'am," I told her, "it's what any real man would do."

Iriko chuckled, amused by my posturing. Pointing in the direction of her apartment, she led me down the street, walking just a few paces in front of me. We traded stories along the way, my schooling, her job, my sister, her boyfriend. As we walked, I noticed she kept shifting the bag from one hand to the other. I offered to take it from her, but she refused. We kept walking, passing shops, threading through people, we even turned down a couple alleyways. By this time, the sun's rays were waving their last goodbye, thin tendrils of light sinking beneath the horizon. A few streetlights had come on, their sterile white glow looking better suited to a locker room rather than a city street. Iriko shifted the bag once more. Again, I offered to carry the bag and again she refused. This time her voice had a slight edge to it. Thinking I had offended her, I decided to let her carry the shopping bag. By this time, night had begun to fall. The only vestige of natural light remaining was a smear of violet sitting just above the horizon. In just a few minutes it would be dark.

I looked around, taking note of how the city sprawl was giving way to a batch of apartments. I glanced at each of them as we walked closer, wondering which one she lived in. However, Iriko passed right by the complexes, directing me down a side street. At first I felt a bit confused, but I remembered that Iriko told me she lived a ways away and that by the time she got home, it would indeed be dark. Silence lay between us now. I took a quick glance at Iriko, but she had her head down, honey-colored bangs in her face, obscuring her eyes. She was biting her lip as well. I assumed she was nervous. Night had descended upon us, its thick, ebon hide punctured here and there by the white and yellow holes poked by the streetlights. We emerged from the side street. A row of ratty houses with unkempt lawns greeted us. There weren't many lights, and of the five or six that were on, one was broken, flickering on and off like the pulse of a dying man fighting to live. An old, battered car lay a few feet up the street from us. All but one of its tires were missing. _Yeesh, she lives here?_ I thought, _no wonder she was afraid to walk home alone!_

However, Iriko surprised me again by walking right past the houses, never once looking at them. By now I was rather confused. How far away did this woman live? Why did she feel the need to go clear into the city? Why hadn't she left the city earlier if she lived this far away? I took another glance at Iriko. Head still down, hair still in her face, lip still being chewed. I patted her shoulder and told her that everything was okay and promised to take down anyone who tried to mess with us. She didn't respond. Checking my watch, the time read 7:15. Inwardly, I groaned. My dad was working late, but I knew my sister was home and wouldn't be happy with my late arrival. No matter, once I got to Iriko's apartment I would ask to borrow her phone. Still though, I wondered, sparing the less-than-savory neighborhood a backward glance, why hadn't she told me how far away she lived?

Iriko remained silent as we walked. Not looking left, right, or even straight ahead. Instead, she just kept staring at her shopping bag. This seemed weird. When I tried to peer into it, she jerked the bag away from my line of sight and gave me a glare so livid that, if possible, could have struck dead right then and there. Looking away, I mumbled an apology. But in the back of my mind, I gave an indignant huff. What was her deal? They were just groceries.

By this time the streetlights were growing sparser. I again began to wonder just how far Iriko lived when I took notice of my new surroundings. Littered here and there were the crumbling remains of buildings, abandoned construction sites and the occasional junkyard. Often during the summer, my friends and I would come to this place and explore the urban graveyard. I had been here often enough to know that there were no apartments neither here nor past this area. A feeling of apprehension began to gnaw at me. Where was this woman leading me? I slowed my pace, stopping a few feet behind Iriko. Noticing this, Iriko turned and looked back at me. She asked me what was wrong. I told her I needed to find a payphone and call my sister. She said that we weren't far from her apartment. If I could just wait a few minutes she would let me borrow her phone. I shook my head, saying my sister was probably worried sick, and the sooner she heard from me the better. Iriko narrowed her eyes.

"We're almost there." She stated, eyes burrowing into my head.

I swallowed, but insisted on finding a payphone.

"There aren't any," she said. The edge had returned to her voice. Her eyes narrowed and her grip on the handle of the shopping bag had become so tight, her knuckles had turned white, "let's just keep going," the last word dipped in volume, sounding almost like a growl. All traces of the frightened young woman were gone, replaced by this predatory female shell. Iriko took a step towards me. Fear held my legs in place. I watched, helpless as she took another step. A third. A fourth. On the fifth, she paused. For a moment, she just stood there, staring at me. Then, without warning, she dropped the bag and ran at me. Upon seeing this, fear's hold over me broke. I whipped around, bolting down the darkened street. I didn't look back to see if Iriko as following me. The sound of her footsteps tearing up the pavement told me that much. Being young and fit gave me quick feet. Full-on sprinting through the myriad of urban decay, I darted into the first alleyway I could find. From here, I took a drunken mixture of turns, only through sheer luck finding myself back in that sketchy neighborhood. Pain had lit a raging fire beneath my ribs. Still, I managed to jog over to the damaged car and crouched beneath the passenger side window. Aside from my ragged breathing, the street was dead silent. Once I had caught my breath, I peeked around the front of the car to find nothing but a deserted street and its bright, but lifeless lights. Taking the initiative, I turned and booked it back to the city.

Once I reached familiar territory, I made my way back to the arcade, intent on using the payphone nearby. A cursory reach through my pockets however, revealed that I had used up all my coins. Glancing at my watch, I saw the time to be 8:45. Good, that meant the arcade was still open. I picked up my pace to a trot. Despite the chill air and late time, people still walked the streets. I stared at each and every one as I passed, terrified that I would run into Iriko again. Thankfully, that didn't happen. Soon enough, the blinking, neon lights of the arcade lurked just a few feet away, throwing all sorts of bright colors out into the night. I walked in and asked the greasy-haired teen behind the counter if I could use the phone. He didn't seem to care, tossing a lazy wave over his shoulder and mumbling that I shouldn't take too long. Nodding, I thanked him and dialed my home number.

The phone didn't finish the first ring before someone on the other end picked up. My sister. The moment she heard my voice, she flew into a rage, screaming at me.

"Where the hell are you?! Do you have any idea what time it is?! Are you some kind of moron?!" she yelled. She was so focused on her tirade that I couldn't even get a word in edgewise. About halfway through her rant, I heard my dad come up and yank the phone from her. While not yelling at me, I could tell he wasn't pleased by the hard strain in his voice. All he did was ask me where I was. I told I was at the arcade.

"I'll be there."

Click! No goodbye, just an immediate slamming of the receiver. I hung up the phone, thanking the attendant once more. He just gave me a sleepy nod, and I went outside to wait. Not long after, my dad's car pulled up. He hadn't even finished parking before Shizuru burst out of the car and rushed up to me. I didn't even get out the h in hello before she walloped me upside my head. Dull pain blossomed inside my skull. Holding my injured head, I smiled.

"Good to see you too sis."

"Shut up," she hissed.

My dad came up behind her. He stood just a couple feet away, arms crossed and head inclined in my direction. Not a good sign. Shouldering pas my sister, he strode up to me, knelt down in front of me and placed both hands on my shoulders.

"You want to tell me why you're out so late?" he asked, eyes digging into my brain the way only a parent's can. I didn't want to. Half of me didn't want to believe what had happened while the other half didn't want to worry my family. In the end, my father's stare proved too heavy to bear and I told him everything. Walking Iriko home, how she'd led me away from town under the pretense of being scared, her strange fixation on her shopping bag. The more I told my dad, the paler his face became, the color bleeding from his face until it was almost translucent. When I finished my story, he just stared at me. I cocked my head at him, wondering if he was okay. Before I could inquire, he wrapped me up in a tight hug, stroking the back of my head. He soon let go and turned to my sister.

"Take your brother and get in the car. I need to make a call." And with that, he walked over to the payphone. Shizuru stomped over, and dragged me to the car. Once we crawled in, I glanced out the back window, watching my dad dial a number. My sister and I sat in silence for a little bit, her in the passenger seat, me in the back. After a while, my dad hung up and got back in the car. Turning the key in the ignition, he drove back home. None of us spoke during the drive. Once we made it home, Shizuru went upstairs to get ready for bed while my dad ushered me into the kitchen. He told me that he had made a report to the police and they'd be dropping by to get some more information. I asked my dad is Iriko was going to go to jail.

"Maybe, that is if they find her," he replied with a shrug. He reached across the table and patted my hand. The cops showed up ten minutes later. I gave them a description of Iriko as well as the last place I had been with her. The officer at the door thanked me for the information, assuring my father they'd look into this. Long story short, the never found Iriko, but they did find her shopping bag where she'd dropped it prior to chasing me. Inside was a length of rope, duct tape, a hammer, a knife, and most disturbing of all, a disposable camera. It chills me to ponder what would have become of me, had I continued walking with her.

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 **Man, good one Kuwabara! Very creepy! What did you think? Drop me a review please!**


	3. Yusuke: The House in the Woods

**So, for those of you who might be a little confused as to why these are in first person, or read more like something posted on the No Sleep forum of Reddit, I've been listening to a lot of true horror tales read by Lazy Masquerade, Mr. Nightmare and Be. Busta. If you ever get the chance, look those guys up on youtube, they're great!**

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When I was about six or seven, I used to spend a lot of time playing in the woods behind the city park. Often I would climb trees or skip rocks across the small bubble of a pond that sat just inside the tree line. As a kid, it was the perfect place to be. Out here, in this patch of wilderness, I was like a little pioneer, in charge of my adventure for the few hours I spent there. One summer afternoon, feeling up for a journey of epic proportions, I hiked deep into the woods. My mother had gone on a bender the night before, and as a result was slumbering through a massive hangover, so I knew I could be out for a long time without having to come back every so often and check in. I tore through underbrush, blazing my own trail, feeling like a little king of the forest. A couple rabbits bounded out from a bush just to the left of me and I watched them dart into the thick copse of brambles squeaking and nipping at each other. I watched them go, then continued my hike. The tree branches above me interlaced, forming a leafy web where shafts of sunlight poked through, making little puddles of saffron on the ground.

Vaulting over a rotten log, I stopped to take a look around. Trees and brush as far as the eye could see. I had no idea how far out I had hiked, but given that there was still an ample amount of sunlight shining down right on me, I guessed that it had to be sometime around noon. My mom would be up in a couple hours, so I figured I'd hike just a little bit deeper before turning around and heading home. Looking ahead, I noticed a small clearing about two hundred feet or so away, the perfect place in which to run around. As I drew closer, I noticed a large structure sitting towards the back. Breaking through the last of the underbrush blocking my way, I emerged into the clearing to find a small two story house sitting at the back of the clearing.

Squat, lacking windows, shutters falling off, it was clear nobody had lived there for years. The wild grasses clambered up the sides of the house, reaching in through the holes where the ground windows had once been, looking as if they were trying to drag the ratty building into the earth. I stared, enraptured by the place. From its broken balcony, to the cracked foundation spurting weeds, I had never seen anything cooler. I just had to explore. Hypnotized by curiosity, I strode up towards the dilapidated house. The wooden steps were chipped and cracked, and groaned when I ascended them. Instead of a front door, there was only an ebon hole, gaping at me, beckoning me inside. I didn't need to be asked twice. Even at a young age, I considered myself a badass. Dark and abandoned places didn't frighten me. And so, I plunged into the house and began my explorations.

The first floor wasn't all that spectacular. A kitchen so choked in dust, every step I took kicked up a thick cloud, a den that housed a moth-eaten behemoth of a sofa, and a couple rooms that were bare save for the clumps of plants that had grown up through the cracks of the floorboards. I'm not sure if it was due to dust, or lack of light, but everything in the house looked sort of washed out. A gray-brown hue hung over every surface; like a sepia photo come to life. Aside front my footprints in the dust, there was no other sign of life. No cobwebs, no animal tracks-the house had died and these paltry skeletal remains were all that had been left behind. I walked back to the entry way and began to climb the rickety stairs up to the second floor. The boards stuck up in all directions, jagged points of wood threatening to dig into my skin if I wasn't careful. The wood bowed under my feet, creaking and groaning. I could feel myself sink a bit each step I took. I clung to the rotted bannister, pulling myself along and prayed it wouldn't break free from the wall. I managed to reach the second floor without incident and stood at the top of the stairs, surveying my surroundings. A long hallway stretched out in front of me, ending in a room that had somehow managed to keep its door. The left and right sides of the hallway held two rooms each that had not been so lucky. Light from outside filtered through the open doorways, highlighting the eddies of dust twirling through the air. I peeked into these rooms, but found nothing of interest. Just more rotten floorboards. I made my way over to the room at the end of the hall. Easing the door open, I cringed at the shriek let loose by the rust covered hinges. Unlike the others, this room had furnishings. Dominating the far wall was a mammoth-sized dresser upon which sat a framed vanity mirror. Cracks threaded through the glass, thin spider web veins spreading the disease of decay to which the house had fallen prey to the shimmering surface of the mirror. A breeze drifted in through the open window to my left. All but one shard of glass remained, a jagged tooth in a lipless maw. Below that lay the remains of a rust-riddled bed frame. I stepped inside, marveling at the mystery the closed dresser drawers presented. However, not matter how hard I tugged, they refused to open. Sealed by dust and time, unknown treasures lost to the dark forever.

Disappointed, I plunked down on the floor. I leaned my head back against the wooden drawers and closed my eyes. So the place didn't have much in the way of hidden secrets, but it sure would make a cool hangout spot. Who knows? Maybe I could dare my classmates to come up here. Tell them some wild stories about all the ghosts I saw, then hide and scare the crap out of them while they braved the 'haunted' house.

As I sat there, contemplating all the ways I could prank my peers, a loud, harsh ringing wrenched my from my thoughts. With a jolt, I leapt to my feet, whipping my head back and forth trying to find the source of the sound. A couple seconds of silence passed before the silence was shattered once more. I glanced towards the door and saw that just behind the open door, tucked away in a dark corner was a nightstand upon which sat an old, chipped, ivory-colored phone. With the brave curiosity that only a child could have, I strode forward and picked up the phone, cutting it off mid-ring. I pressed the receiver to my ear.

"Hello? Who's this?"

A soft blast of static sighed out from the phone and into my ear. Below that, I could hear a raspy breathing that sounded like the rustling of parchment. Before I could ask who was on the other end, a soft, weak voice whispered three words to me.

"I see you."

I jumped back, slamming the phone down before running and leaping out the open window. I hit the ground running, speeding away from the house and across the clearing. Once I made my way back to the small pond, I collapsed to my knees, panting and gasping for breath. My heart slammed against my ribs, both from exhaustion and fear. It wasn't until I regained enough strength to get to my feet that I realized that I had probably been the victim of some weird prank call. Relief flooded through me, but only for a brief moment. If that was true, I asked myself, how could a phone be ringing in an abandoned house in the middle of the woods?

I haven't been back there since.

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 **Good? Bad? Let me know what you think!**


	4. Botan: Train Trap

**Hello, hello! Welcome back guys! As always, thanks for clicking and I hope you enjoy!**

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I'm writing this as a warning. Please, heed my words and don't ever make the same stupid mistake I did. You might not be as lucky as I was…

I had gone to visit a friend of mine who lived halfway across the city. We had planned to spend the day together shopping. We wasted hours going from store to store and while we didn't find anything worth purchasing, we still had a lot of fun, trying on all kinds of clothes. Dusk had fallen by the time we got back to my friend's apartment. From there we proceeded to watch movies while snacking on a large bowl of popcorn along with an assortment of junk food. Sometime during the second or third movie, I dozed off. Hours later, I awoke to the hushed murmur of white noise. My friend had fallen asleep as well, curled up over the arm of the couch with one foot dangling just above the floor. The popcorn bowl lay on the floor, only a few stray kernels littering the bottom. I glanced at my watch and groaned. 1:30 a.m. I needed to get home. My boss wanted me to come in to work early around 7:30 a.m. I thought about going back to sleep, but that meant getting up earlier, which would be hard as I had no alarm to wake me up at the time necessary. If I took the subway, I'd get back to my apartment at around 2:00-2:30, which would give me around four hours of sleep. With that in mind, I heaved myself up from the couch, nudging my friend and telling her I was heading out. She sat up, blinking and gave me a groggy half-mumbled reply which I couldn't understand.

"What was that?" I asked, putting on my shoes.

My friend stumbled up off the couch. She must have noticed the time because I heard her curse.

"Shit! It's already that late? Crap… Botan, why don't you just stay here?"

I shook my head, shrugging on my jacket, "Koenma wants me to come into work early and I don't want to bother you rushing out of here before dawn."

She walked around the back of the couch, stopping right by the door. I hugged her and we bid each other farewell. Stepping out into the cool night air, I zipped up my jacket and made my way down to the street. I exited the complex, stepping out into the empty street. Street lights cut through the gathered darkness, pooling onto the sidewalk in bright puddles of white. As I walked, I watched my shadow drift up the street, trailing out from my feet like a humanoid ebony ribbon. With no cloud cover, the moon was free to take center stage in the night sky, its light dyeing every surface it touched a bright silver. I turned a corner, and spotted an entrance to a nearby subway station. The light from the underground tunnel spilled out onto the sidewalk like flames beneath an ivory witch's cauldron.

I hopped down the steps two at a time, eager to get home and get whatever sleep I could. Once I reached the platform, I took a quick glance at my watch. 1:45. Fifteen minutes until the next train. I looked around. Nobody. Now, I've taken late night rides on the subway before, but never anything past midnight. So, the deserted platform was a little eerie-almost like something straight from a horror movie. I took a seat on a nearby bench and waited for the train. Time seemed to drag on, as if the silence and emptiness of the station had strapped weights to it, leaving the minutes with no choice but to shuffle along. The tunnel before me loomed pitch-black, a stark contrast to the blazing white tiles of the platform. I anxiously tapped my foot, tiny droplets of sound echoing in the void. I kept glancing over my shoulder, expecting to see someone coming up behind me.

Eventually, the train arrived and I almost dashed aboard, I was so relieved. The doors shut behind me with a soft click and the train began its voyage up the tracks to my destination. As I made my way to a seat, I took notice of three men sitting near the back. At first glance, they weren't much to speak of. Dressed in jeans and faded shirts, they looked like bored college students heading home from a study session, the only exception to this being a pair of rather expensive looking tennis shoes worn by the man on the right. Crisp, shiny, shiny black leather, offset by the bright blue Nike logo swooping down from near the top of the foot. I tossed them a cheery smile and a wave before taking a seat. Aside from the rhythmic clacking of the train, the ride was silent. The men in the back just sat there, two of them staring out the window with bored expressions on their faces. The man in the middle however was staring right at me. It was an unnerving kind of stare, blank face and glassy eyes peering out from behind a curtain of unkempt, greasy hair. Honestly, it looked better suited to a corpse. And for some strange reason, that's what my paranoid brain thought he was at first. However, the occasional rise and fall of his chest disproved this. I leaned forward, thinking that maybe he was just zoning out and didn't know I was there. However, I noticed his eyes following my movements. Suppressing a shudder, I smiled again, hoping to see some kind of expression from him, but alas, nothing happened. Only that empty fish-like stare. I turned away, trying my best not to get creeped out. _Maybe he's just tired_ , I told myself. _Or maybe he's some kind of freaky drug addict_ a tiny, frightened voice in my head piped up _._ I glanced back at the man in the middle. His tongue crawled out of his mouth like some fat, blind worm and slithered across his bottom lip. This time I couldn't suppress my shudder, and forcibly turned my head away. If this guy was indeed on something, I had to hope that the two men next to him were sober and would restrain him if he tried anything.

The train zipped down the tunnel. We passed a couple stations, both of them as empty and lifeless as the man in the middle's stare. At the third station, the train shuddered to a stop. One of the men in the back, the one on the left got to his feet. He turned to the men behind him, who by now I assumed to be his friends, patted the middle man on the shoulder, and whispered something to the man on the right. Said man nodded and watched his friend exit the train. The doors slid shut and we were off once more. I took a tentative glance back at the men. The one on the right continued staring out the window, every now and then his eyes would droop. I slid my gaze over the creepy guy next to him. Sure enough, he was still staring at me. A soft hissing noise echoed in the cabin as the train slid to yet another stop. My heart began to pound. I watched the man on the right.

 _Don't stand up. Don't stand up. Please, please don't stand up!_

But he did. Stretching, the man got to his feet. He stifled a yawn, turning back to the staring man. Like his friend, he patted the guy on his shoulder, turned and exited the train. The sound of the doors shutting once more echoed in my ears. Ringing out like the blade of a guillotine, slicing through any hope I had that I would not be left alone with the man in the back. A shuffling noise caught my attention. I looked to see that the man had changed seats, moving up a row. I swallowed my terror and did the same, moving closer to the door. As I sat down, not taking my eyes off of him, I noticed that his expression had changed. A predatory gleam shone in his eyes while his lips had begun to part in a hungry smile. I balled my shaking hands into fists, wondering why the hell I hadn't just spent the night at my friend's apartment. Looking back, I should have tried to move to another car, or run up and gotten the conductor's attention. However, one look at this creep's face made me think twice. Just the thought of turning my back on him in a closed space was enough to keep me seated. Still, it wasn't like I could sit here and wait for him to do something. I was unarmed, no defenses whatsoever. Sure, I had my keys, but that was assuming I could cut or stab this guy without him overpowering me.

I took another glance back towards him and saw that he'd slip up another seat. The smile on his face had widened into a sick, twisted leer. Upon meeting my gaze he began mumbling to himself. _Christ,_ I thought, _this guy must be on something. No one acts like this without something flooding their system._ I couldn't make out what he was saying, and no matter how hard I tried, I wasn't able to read his lips. Again, I turned from him. This time though, I made sure to keep him just within my peripheral vision. Horrified, I watched as he again moved closer to me, leaving the distance between us to four rows. My heart hammered against my ribs, increasing tempo with each passing second. I needed to get out of here. I couldn't afford to let him get any closer to me. Not taking my eyes off him once, I stood up and backed towards the door. The man's smile dropped, a look of confusion creeping across his face. The light then dawned-his confused expression twisting into a strange mixture of sadness and desire. Think of a demon trying to give you puppy-dog eyes. A good attempt, but defeated by how horrid the creature doing it is.

"Please don't go," he murmured, "I like your eyes. They're so very pretty. Please, just stay here and let me look at them."

While I had a whole litany of denials and curses lined up in my head and ready to barrage the bastard, my mouth was locked shut by fear. All I could do was whip my head back and forth and mutter a noise that sounded like a strangled kitten trying to cry. By this time I had my back pressed flat against the door. Due to the terror, my body had become hyper-aware of what was going on around me. I could hear every little noise the train made as it traversed the tracks, every creak and groan of the metal, every click and clack of the wheels; the lights in the car beamed far too bright, threatening to blind me if I looked at them; and every dip and bump and shudder of the train made my nerves jump and spasm. All the sensory input threatened to fry my brain. The noises kept rising, the clicks, clacks, moans, and groans blending together into some screeching, metal cacophony thumping to the beat of the train's travel. Everything seemed to swell, condense, then balloon out again; rippling as if I was seeing it through a fish bowl. My brain couldn't figure out how to handle it. Impulses sizzled through my nervous system, hissed demands to calm down drowned out by the panicked screeching of my instincts, replaying the man's request over and over again.

Just when I thought I was going to pass out, leaving myself at the mercy of this creep, everything stopped. It was like something inside me had reached up and yanked my panic lever back down to a resting position. My vision was able to correctly process the amount of light, and I could no longer feel and hear everything around me. A cool, soothing equilibrium flowed through my brain, soothing my mind like Solarcaine on bad burn. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, reveling in the feeling.

"If you're feeling unwell, you shouldn't leave."

Like window shutters my eyes snapped open. There, right in front of me stood the man. My shriek died before it had even climbed halfway up my throat. A lopsided smile hung upon his face. Sour, wet breath tickled my nose, smelling like rotted trash. I flinched back, pressing my back flat against the door. His smile broadened, that malevolent, crooked grin of someone who knows their prey is trapped.

"Please," he said, extending one long-fingered hand, "come sit back down."

My tongue sat in my mouth, heavy and dead, unable to form the words that were looping within my brain. I clung to my purse like a drowning man to a life raft, as if somehow this tiny bag that only held my wallet and a small notebook would save me. Although impossible, I somehow shrank further back into the door, succeeding in only putting a few centimeters between me and him. He shuffled forward, fingertips grazing my arm.

"Come on now."

Before I could shove him back, the door opened up, and I fell backward, spilling out onto the platform. The impact knocked the wind out of me and I lost my grip on my purse, causing it to skid back towards the tracks. Scrabbling at the tile, I managed to get my arms working properly and shoved myself to my feet. Just as I turned to grab my purse, I saw that the man had exited the train as well. My heart somersaulted into my throat and a sickening tightness wound itself around my chest. All I could manage was a choked gasp before I snatched my purse off the ground, turned, and fled. From behind me, I heard the man shout followed by the hard pounding of footsteps. I banked left, sprinting down an empty tunnel, my eyes darting everywhere, looking for some place to hide. Solid white walls illuminated by light, leaving no speck of shadow to squeeze in. The trash bins were too small to duck behind. For a moment, I considered grabbing one of the bins and chucking it at him-that way I could slow him down and give myself a good lead. One glance behind me shattered that hope into a thousand tiny fragments. Five feet. That was the distance between us. Just three inches beneath my height and already the tail end of my shadow had lapped onto the tips of his feet.

Adrenaline surged through my body, crackling along my nerves like lightning. Desperate, I poured on the speed and turned sharply down another corridor. Already, pain was lancing through my sides, burning beneath my ribcage with each breath I took. The muscles in my calves felt like bags full of glass shards, scraping against my skin like thousands of tiny teeth. It felt like at any moment, my body was going to give out on me, betraying me out of an insane desire for rest. Images surfaced within my mind, bubbles of terror floating up from within my subconscious, popping upon breach, flooding my imagination with dark possibilities.

Then, as if to confirm the reality, I heard a sharp snap and felt a burning, needle-like pain as a few strands of hair were yanked from my scalp. Right then, my body instantly went from flight to fight mode, and I whirled around, swinging my purse like a flail. The satisfying _whump_ of black leather smacking my pursuer right in the temple met my ears. The man reeled back, more out of surprise than pain I suspect, stumbling backwards before falling to the ground. Achievement unlocked, my body switched right back to flight mode and I took off, sprinting like a first-place runner just a few feet away from the finish line. The corridor veered left and I did the same, nearly smacking into the side of a photo booth as I did so. I backed up a bit before it hit me: I was standing right in front of a hiding spot.

With little time, I plunged through the curtain and into the darkened space. The harsh slapping of shoes against concrete echoed in my ears. Panicking, I hopped up onto the small bench and grabbed hold of the curtain to cease its movement. I squatted in the dark, holding my breath and listening as both the footsteps and my heartbeat grew louder. To my horror, I could hear his footsteps begin to slow the closer he drew to the photo booth, finally drawing to a stop right outside. Hand pressed hard against my mouth to stifle my panicked breathing, I watched his shoes from where they peeped at me from beneath the small gap in the curtain just above the mouth of the photo booth. Dirty, scuffed, and cheap these worn-down sneakers looked like something the king of all bums would wear. The leather looked to have been worn paper-thin and I could see a flash of white sock through a small hole near the heel. I stared hard, knowing that if his shoes turned to point at the photo booth, I was doomed.

He stood there for a few moments, breathing in harsh, ragged pants. Thin tendrils of pain lanced through my arm and into my wrist, but I didn't dare let go of the curtain. Just the slightest movement and it would all be over. I resumed my focus on my assailant and noticed that his breathing had slowed. Now, I could hear him murmuring to himself, cursing up one side and down the other. _Good,_ I thought, _get pissed. I'm not going to let you find me._ He continued to stand there for about half a minute before turning to walk further down the tunnel. However, before he could walk off, there came a shout from that direction. Relief flooded my body in a shimmering, golden tide. Thank God, someone else was down here. Maybe a security guard, maybe a maintenance worker, or even just some random scrub who was also on his way to a late night ride. In all reality, it didn't matter who this person was, I just felt so relieved now that I was no longer alone. I expelled my tension via a long, quiet sigh and waited for the person to approach the photo booth. Potential savior not, I wasn't about to exit my safe spot and waltz straight into the arms of danger.

Heavy treading hinted at the gender of the sudden arrival. A deep voice called out, confirming this. The words however, brought me up short.

"Hey man, did you find her?"

I frowned. What the hell was that supposed to mean? Just who was this Johnny-come-lately? Glancing back down, I watched the newcomer's shoes drift into my little viewing space. The sight sent a river of chills coursing through my body. My eyes swelled like ink blots on dry paper, growing to the size of saucers while my mind tried to process the rapid-fire blips of fear and confusion popping up all over my mental radar.

The newcomer's shoes were a rather expensive pair of sneakers. Shiny black leather sneakers, offset by a bright blue Nike logo. The dirty sneakers turned towards their financial opposite.

"Nah, man. I almost had her, then the bitch whipped around and smacked me with her purse. I ended up falling on my ass and losing her. Did she run by you?"

Nike-boy responded, "No. I haven't seen her. I've been wondering up and down this whole area. Niko's laying in wait by the Injuku Station, but if she slipped by you, she's probably gone."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Injuku? That was near the train's first stop. Just how far had they (because now I had more than one stalker, apparently) planned that I would flee? Nike-boy had gotten off at Shinohara Station, which meant that I had burst out of the train at Umi Station. Tears welled up in my eyes as I realized if I had just been able to last two more stations, I could have bypassed this subterranean hell entirely and just made a run for my apartment. Despair and self-pity took the place of terror, rotting away my rationale like an emotional case of gangrene. Why the hell hadn't I just taken my friend up on her offer? Why had I stayed over so late in the first place? Here I was stuck within a hair's breadth of potential death that could have been avoided if I'd just been somewhat responsible.

A desperate sob began to crawl up my throat. Still clinging to some notion of survival, I pressed my hand to my mouth even harder. Light pricks of pain nipped at my cheeks as I felt my nails dig into my skin. Warm tears dripped down my cheeks, mingling with the thin coat of sweat that I'd built up during my run. This hadn't been just a simple run-in with a creepy stalker, this had to have been planned. These men had set the trap and I'd been stupid enough to take the bait. Now the only thing left to do was wait and see if they'd figure out where I was hiding.

Yet, by some grace of God, they didn't. I heard one of them let out a long, frustrated sigh to which his companion replied,

"Well, c'mon then, let's get out of here. This place is starting to creep me out."

To my astonishment, the prince and pauper shoes both turned and began walking away from the photo booth. I couldn't believe my luck. Up until that moment, I figured breaks like that only happened in the movies. As the sound of their footsteps drifted further away, I heard the words that will haunt me for the rest of my days,

"You should have seen it, man. I really had her going-you could tell she believed I was mental. Talk about some spot-on acting."

That last sentence rammed it home. This whole thing had been some sort of elaborate set-up concocted by those three men. The realization opened up a well-spring of mental images, each one worse than the last. Nausea hit me like a freight train, forcing me to sit still, holding my head until it passed. When it did, I noticed the corridor had fallen silent. No footsteps, no drifting voices, the men had gone. On legs that felt like melted butter, I rose from my crouching position and got down from the bench. Peeling back the curtain, I peered out into the hall, squinting, eyes not prepared for the sudden onslaught of bright light. Aside from one discarded, crumpled pop can, the hallway was empty. Like a young deer, I crept out of the photo booth, eyes wide and darting, sure that one or both of the men were lurking somewhere nearby.

Once more in the hallway, I turned and walked in the opposite direction the men had taken, retracing the path down which I had been chased. All the while, I kept looking around, not ready to believe that I was alone. I had to stop a few times because I kept mistaking the echo of my footsteps for those of my stalkers. Eventually, I made my way back to the Umi station. I didn't wait for another train. Instead, I exited the subway at that station. Once I made it back above ground, I stopped for a moment and took in my surroundings. A cloud of moths hovered in the glow of a buzzing streetlight. Tall buildings stood sentry on either side of the street, garbed in the silver-streaked shadow cloak of night. The air around me smelled cool and damp while out on the empty street a small pack of leaves skittered towards a storm drain, pushed on by a light breeze.

Tears of relief blurred this vision. Never before have I been so happy to be above ground. Since it was far too late to take a bus or a taxi, I had no choice but to walk home. However, just the thought of striding down these empty darkened streets unnerved me. What if I ended up running into those creeps along the way? Taking a quick glance up the street, I spied a payphone and jogged towards it. I popped a few coins in the slot and dialed my boyfriend. He picked up on the third ring, annoyance underlying the exhaustion in his voice. I didn't even get out two words before I broke down, the situation finally having caught up with me. Bawling like a child, I begged him to come get me, trying to explain what I had just been through, my mouth tripping over my sobs as I tried to form something that could be considered a coherent sentence.

My boyfriend cut me off, all traces of sleep gone from his voice. In a stern voice, he told me to stay put and that he was on his way. Before I could say anything else, my boyfriend hung up. Within ten minutes I saw his headlights stabbing their way through gathered darkness. He pulled to a stop in front of the pay phone. I burst out of the phone booth and ran up to his car. He flung open the door and leapt out, wrapping me in his arms. Like a drowning man to a life raft, I clung to him, shaking while he stroked my hair. After a short while, we let each other go and I crawled in the car. On the way back to my apartment, I, now in a calmer state of mind, explained what had happened to me. Although he remained silent, his jaw clenched while his free hand reached out and squeezed my thigh. When we pulled into the parking lot for my building, I asked my boyfriend if he could stay the night. Of course, being the wonderful guy that he is, my boyfriend told me he would.

Once we were inside, we went straight to bed. Didn't pass go, didn't collect two hundred dollars, didn't even get undressed. We just kicked out shoes off and fell into bed. The next morning my boyfriend left for school and I, at his behest, called into work sick. Right before he left, we talked about what happened to me in the subway. We were both in agreement that I had been ensnared in an elaborate trap, but our thoughts as to the reason behind it differed. I'm pretty sure all they wanted to do was assault me while my boyfriend believes they not only had plans for rape, but may have been planning to kidnap me as well. Whatever their reasons, I'm glad to have made it out of that subway with my life. So please, never ride the subway late at night, if you can avoid it. If not, make sure you're not alone. I don't know if occurrences like that are a regular thing, but you can never be too careful.

* * *

 **Okay, yeah, this one took a while to get out. I'm terribly sorry for the delay. Finals are coming up, and all my motivation has gone into studying. At any rate, what did you think? This one wasn't as scary as the last ones, but I like it nonetheless. Also, if you know my fics, I'm sure you have a pretty good idea of who the boyfriend was. *winks***


	5. Kurama: South Dakota Skin-walker

**Hello, and welcome to chapter five! I'm quite surprised with the amount of traffic these stories are getting, and I'd like to thank all of you who read them. Special thanks goes out to Shawn-Raven for the awesome reviews; seeing your feedback puts a smile on my face.**

 **On to the story!**

* * *

This event took place during the summer of my junior year at college. I had been out from under my parent's roof for close to a year then and found myself quite smitten with the prospect. It was a great feeling- not only the freedom being out of the house afforded me, but I also began to feel like an actual adult. Not even tedious tasks like laundry could take away my love for my new position in life. Of course, with me being a student and prices for decent apartments being what they were, I did have a roommate. Quiet and polite, albeit a bit short, Hisato made a pretty decent roommate. He had previously roomed with an American student by the name of Anthony Moul, who due to family circumstances, had had to move back to the states. However, the two of them still kept in touch, having become good friends during their rooming together. Hisato once described Anthony to me as a stereotypical American. Tall with a slight tan, blond, and always energetic.

So, one balmy morning in the middle of June, Hisato burst into my room face aglow with an almost child-like delight and grinning as if he'd just won the lottery.

"Dude, Kurama you aren't going to believe this!" he exclaimed.

Quirking an eyebrow, I put up the book I'd been reading and leaned back in my desk chair,

"What's up?" I asked.

Almost breathless from excitement, he took a seat on my bed still beaming that thousand watt smile.

"I just got a call from Anthony. Since his intersession classes are over, he wants to know if I'd be able to spend a little bit of the summer over in the states. He says you're more than welcome to come to if you'd like."

I mulled this over for a bit. I'd never been outside of Japan before, and quite a few kids I'd gone to high school with had often boasted about going to America for vacation. Plus being able to stay with someone Hisato knew meant we wouldn't have to shell out money hotel fees and other expenses.

"Sure," I said, "sounds like fun. Where in America does he live?"

Still grinning, Hisato replied, "South Dakota, Rapid City specifically. It's a Midwestern state, so it's a bit different from the coastal states we hear so much about on television. Trust me though, you'll enjoy it. Rapid City's located in the Black Hills and the beauty of that place is breathtaking."

I decided to take his word for it. Hisato continued to inform me about the trip. Turns out we'd be staying there for a little over a week, after which Anthony would be heading back east to spend the Fourth of July with his family. As far as activities went, we'd just sort of play it by ear, although Anthony had planned on taking us hiking. Hisato was bouncing off the walls all week, constantly babbling about how much he was looking forward to seeing Anthony again and how cool it would be getting to spend part of our summer in America. His excitement was pretty contagious, and I found myself almost unable to sleep the night before the trip.

The next day, we boarded a plane and settled ourselves in for the thirteen hour flight. I don't remember much due to sleeping most of the way. Upon exiting the plane, I took a look at the landscape. Dry, dusty yellow grass swaying in a gentle breeze, running all the way to a clump of clustered hills off in the distance. Atop the hills sat a dusting of pine trees, a thin little band of black that reminded me of my step-father's receding hairline. The sun hung above us in a pale azure sky, piercing the few clouds with sharp, bright golden arrows. To be honest, I was a little less than impressed, but what did I expect? This was the airport. In my experience, land around airports has never been all that aesthetically pleasing. Before I could scrutinize any further, Hisato dragged me out of the plane and inside the terminal.

Packed to the brim with people, it was difficult to maneuver. Everywhere you turned, there was someone standing about a hair's breadth away. Young, old, male, female, their voices all blending together to form a buzzing hum of noise punctuated here and there by the noises of the machines inside the airport. Hisato and I fought through the crowd, making our way over to baggage claim. Arriving at that skinny, trundling black belt felt like a victory. Once our bags had arrived, we snatched them and turned to make our way back into the crown in hopes of finding Anthony.

"Do you think he remembered to pick us up?" I asked, shouldering past an overweight woman wearing what had to be the world's tightest tank top.

Hisato nodded, and jerked his thumb over at the floor to ceiling windows were people clustered, some holding signs, others just scanning the crowd, heads bobbing from side to side. I looked over the crowd, but none of the people I could see were blond, tall, and tan. Hisato however, wasn't to be deterred and took to shouting Anthony's name. Before I could tell him that wasn't a viable method, a head I hadn't noticed snapped over in our direction. A mop of shaggy blond hair, offset by the slight tan belonging to a young man who stood about a full head above the rest of the crowd. Blond, tan, and tall; all three boxes checked. Anthony trotted over to us, a large grin plastered on his face. Upon reaching us, he slapped Hisato a high-five and asked him how he'd been.

"I've been doing great!" Hisato replied, his smile mirroring Anthony's. Anthony chuckled and turned to me, introducing himself. I gave him a polite smile and did the same. After exchanging a bit of small talk regarding the flight, we exited the airport and began walking towards Anthony's car. While riding shotgun, I got a good look at the landscape as Anthony drove us into town. As it turns out, my initial assessment of the state had been a bit too cynical. The closer we came to town, the more dusty yellow lost to vibrant green. While the trees were no closer, still clustered at the top of the steep hills that ran the western length of the city like an earthen defensive wall, they were more in number, a thick ebon carpet covering the hilltops and swooping down the hillside in some places.

Once in town, we became swept up in the rush of late afternoon traffic. The sheer number of cars forced us to crawl up and down the various streets. Anthony fiddled with the radio, flipping from rock station to rock station. Eventually, we pulled up to his apartment building. Both Hisato and I were exhausted due to the long flight and ended up crashing early. The next couple days were spent playing tourist. I won't bore you with the details. Suffice to say it was just going to various points of interest and a few souvenir shops here and there. About a day or so after that, Anthony suggested we do a bit of hiking on the Mickelson Trail. With nothing else in mind, Hisato and I jumped on the idea. After a quick trip to the store to pick up some necessary supplies, the three of us headed out. The drive took us out to a small town called Lead, a robust little place with houses crammed into the many hills rolling up and down the streets. While Hisato and I marveled at the quaint, almost dollhouse-like appearance of many of the houses, Anthony gave us a quick rundown on the trail. It stretched clear from Deadwood all the way down to Edgemont, 109 miles of weather beaten soft gravel winding its way through the hills-the only reason we were starting out in Lead was that Anthony didn't feel like starting out with three miles of uphill. Once we reached the trailhead, we exited the car and made our way across the road and began our hike. As we soon found out however, cutting out Deadwood didn't make much of a difference. Once we got past Englewood, the real uphill climb began. Never before have I felt such a burning sensation in my calves-it felt as if the skin had been peeled away with a rusty knife, inch by inch leaving the exposed muscle to boil beneath the harsh glare of the summer sun. Cresting that damnable hill felt like scaling Mt Everest itself. By the time the downhill slope to Dumont began, my legs felt as if they were composed of loosely packed sand, ready to crumble beneath me at any moment.

Once we reached the trailhead we sank onto the picnic benches, almost collapsing upon them. Sunlight streamed in through the dirty windows, tinting the glass a light sepia as the light bedded down on the floor in squares of brushed gold. Hisato took a few sips from his Camelbak while Anthony rummaged around in his. I took a quick glance at my watch. A quarter after two. We'd started out at around eight o' clock. Had it really taken us that long to get here?

"So," Anthony began, pulling out a bag of trail mix, "I'm exhausted. What about you guys?"

Hisato nodded. I did the same. Chuckling, Anthony passed the bag to us, "I thought so."

"Still," I said, pulling out a handful of trail mix, "we're not really that far, not even halfway. Maybe we should try to reach the next trailhead before we call it quits."

Quirking an eyebrow, Anthony replied, "You want to hike ten miles to Rochford? I mean, yeah it's downhill, but…"

Ten miles? Yeah, no on second thought I'd hiked enough for today. I glanced over to Hisato, who shook his head.

"Alright then, it's decided," Anthony declared, stuffing the bag of trail mix into his backpack, "we'll rest here for a few more minutes, then head back to Lead."

I fought the urge to groan. Of course we'd have to hike the whole way back. Oh well, it could have been worse-going back to Lead cut out return trip short by an hour. Besides, given the time we didn't really have much choice other than to go back*.

Once we were rested, we gathered up our belongings and made the long journey back. Due to our creeping fatigue, we had to stop along the trail more frequently. As a result, we didn't make it back into Lead until almost nine. The sun had started to dip towards the horizon, a gold bubble suspended upon the tips of the pine trees. Anthony's car sat in a small parking lot across the highway, a dusky blue silhouette in the gathering evening. I sighed with relief when I saw it. The pain in my calves had returned. Each leg now a torch, searing the flesh. Worse still, the pain had begun to migrate to my lower back.

We piled in the car, Hisato in the back, myself riding shotgun. I leaned back in the seat, relieved to be sitting on something comfortable. Anthony sighed, "Well, that was an ordeal. Fun though!" He turned to the both of us, "Since it's going to take us about an hour to get back to Rapid, how about we grab a bite to eat?"

Hisato and I glanced at each other and shrugged.

"Yeah, sounds good to me," Hisato said. I nodded. Anthony grinned and drove us into town.

* * *

We exited the restaurant a little after ten. An ebon blanket had stretched across the sky, snapping up the last vestiges of daylight as they tried to flee beneath the horizon. Streetlights cast their pale gaze upon the ground, dividing the sidewalk into equal sections of light and dark. As we crossed the parking lot, Anthony babbled on about the history of the town as well as the Mickelson Trail. I was only half-listening. Between the long hike and the large meal, I just wanted to get back to Anthony's apartment and sleep.

The night was cool and quiet as we drove out of town. Several of the shops had started to close down and the crowds that had milled about the streets during the day had been reduced to a smattering of small groups here and there. We passed through Deadwood, its casinos sparkling in the dark, neon signs flashing false encouragement for the next poor sap who walked through the doors. The three of us were silent as we drove through the hills. Hisato had fallen asleep and Anthony was lost in thought. Meanwhile, I had the window down and was enjoying the cool air. Other than the two cars we passed right outside of Deadwood, the highway was empty-an undisturbed river of ebon with us the only vessel afloat. Trees crowded the road side, bathing in the moon's silver glow. Closing my eyes, I leaned my head against the window frame. I could feel myself drifting off.

Right before my mind could drop off the radar, I heard Anthony let out a yell.

"Oh shit!" A sharp squeal. The car screaming to a stop. The split-second reveal of a silhouette bathed in the glow of the headlights. Followed by a jarring, sickening thud. The car lurched to a stop.

Stunned, the three of us sat in silence. The smell of burnt rubber hung thick in the air. A breeze drifted in through my open window, carrying with it the scent of blood. I glanced over at Anthony. His face had a marble pallor made waxy by the soft glow of the dash lights. His mouth hung agape, while his eyes were open wide. White knuckled hands gripped the wheel and upon closer inspection I could see them shaking.

"What was that? What happened?" Hisato piped up from the back.

Unbuckling my seat belt, I craned my head over the hood of the car to try and see just what we had hit. Unfortunately, the car's nose was a bit too long and blocked my view. I did however, see a splash of blood on the hood, gleaming in the headlights like a fresh coat of paint.

"I'm…not sure." I murmured. Sliding my gaze back over to Anthony, I ventured, "Maybe we hit a deer?"

Anthony squeezed his eyes shut, "No," he replied, "no deer. Deer don't just sit in the middle of the road." His voice quivered as he spoke, "I think…oh God I think I hit a person."

I frowned. A person? How was that even possible? Who would be wandering this far out after sundown? Much less just sitting in the middle of the road?

"Maybe we should go check it out?"

Anthony and I turned back to Hisato. With a sheepish shrug, he continued, "I mean, if it is a person we need to make sure they're okay."

Nodding, I turned to Anthony. He had turned back around and was staring, wide eyes fixated upon the blood congealing on the hood of the car. Placing my hand on his shoulder, I gave him a reassuring squeeze.

"Come on, it'll be okay."

Biting his lip, Anthony nodded and got out of the car. Hisato and I followed suit. This far from town, the stars gleamed brighter shining like trapped gems. The forest seemed closer, the trees towering over us. Standing nearby, it felt as if they were staring at us, judging us for what had just passed. In fact, it felt as if the eyes of that entire area, not just the forest were scrutinizing us. A breeze kicked up, nipping into my flesh with chilled teeth. It shook the leaves of the trees, although this time the noise sounded closer to an angry hiss.

I shook my head. What was I thinking? I strode to the front of the car where Hisato and Anthony had gathered. Rounding the hood, my gaze landed upon the body in the road. Stretched out in front of the car, it looked as if what we had hit was merely sleeping. Awash in the glow from the headlights, it looked like a dancer suspended in amber. A macabre paperweight a monster might keep on its desk. While the lower half lay face down, the upper half was locked in a half twist towards the car. Its chest was curved inward, a perfect outline of the car. Small lumps peppered the rim of the indent, bits of broken bone pushing the skin upward. Greasy, gray fur covered it in matted clumps. Sores along its flank wept puss. Its leg bore a large gash. At first I thought the wound had been caused by the crash, but closer inspection revealed a flash of wriggling white beneath the oozing lip of the wound.

"Geez," Hisato had his hand raised to his mouth, "what the heck is it?"

"It looks like a coyote…I think." Anthony replied.

"A coyote? Are you sure?"

He nodded, "Look at the head. See the muzzle, the ears?"

I saw them. Or rather, what was left them. One of the ears had been torn off, leaving a ragged hole in the animal's head. A lone fly buzzed around the bloody maw. The muzzle hung open, tongue lolling out onto the road. Yellowed teeth peeped out from the beast's bloody gums. More blood pooled around its bottom jaw which sat crooked and broken.

"Man, poor thing was in pretty rough shape."

"Maybe we did it a favor." I muttered.

Anthony shot me a withering look, "Hell is that supposed to mean?"

Gesturing towards the corpse, I replied, "Look at it, it looks like it was dying well before we hit it."

"He's right," Hisato said, "the mangy fur, the sores, that wound on its leg. Maybe it came out here to die?"

Anthony stared at the both of us. Without a word, he sighed, shook his head, and turned back to the coyote. He was silent for a moment, then "Well, the least we can do is move it off the highway. I'd hate to leave it here for other cars to run over it."

None of us moved. We kept glancing at each other waiting for the other to move forward. A heavy silence had settled. No rustling underbrush, no buzzing of nocturnal insects, even the wind had died. The forest waited with bated breath to see which of us would step up to perform the gruesome task.

Anthony's gasp broke the silence. "You guys look at its chest."

"Why? What's going on with…" The rest of my sentence dissolved beneath the shock of what I saw. Up, down, up down, the coyote's chest was moving. Blood bubbled out of its mouth as it sucked down breath after wheezing breath. Its eye snapped open. Milky, glazed amber rolled wildly as its head twitched and jerked. Its breathing was growing louder. Wet wheezing that, the more I listened didn't sound like breaths at all, but more like…sobs. Hitching and heaving, its chest spasmed outward. As I watched, I became more certain that the sounds I heard were sobs.

In muted horror, the three of us watched as the animal began to push itself to its feet. Horrid cracks split the air as it tried to turn its upper body into a more accommodating position. A group of maggots spurted out of its leg wound with a sickening squelch as it drew itself upright. The noises it was making had swelled to fill the area around us. Distorted human-like sobs, they sent chills down my spine. They just sounded…wrong. I could clearly hear what sounded like the weeping of a grown man, but it was warped, the sound stretched and fuzzy in places; like what happens to a cassette tape when left out in the sun. Beneath that lay a mushed growl that didn't sound canine at all.

But it was when the animal managed to stand up that I felt true fear. It didn't stand on all fours, but rather on its hind legs. To make things even more eerie, it didn't seem off balance. It didn't sway, it didn't teeter back and forth, it just stood on its back legs with all the ease of a human being.

My mouth went dry. Cold beads of sweat trickled down my neck. Beside me, I could hear Hisato's terrified panting. The…the thing stared at us. As its clouded eyes roved over us, I got the sickening feeling that it was marking us, committing our faces to memory so it could find us later and make us pay for what we had done. I opened my mouth, to say what I don't know, but before I could even think to form any words, the creature let out a horrid scream. I'm not even sure how to describe it. The best way I can think of is what kind of sound you would hear if you threw a warren of rabbits into a meat grinder. Such an awful, high pitched sound it drilled its way straight into my brain. Then the fiend turned, still screaming, and ran into the forest. As it ran, I took note of how it sprinted. No jerky movements, no tripping, it ran with all the fluid grace of an Olympic medalist.

Once the forest had swallowed that ungodly terror and all had fallen silent, I looked at Hisato and Anthony. Both were pale and wide-eyed.

"Wh-What…what was…" Hisato stammered

"I don't-" Another scream from deep within the woods cut me off. Without a word, the three of us scrambled for the car. I didn't even get my door shut before Anthony hit the gas. Tires shrieking, we tore off down the highway. I looked back and for a moment, I could have sworn I saw something standing just within the tree line, watching us depart.

No one spoke for a while. It wasn't until the lights of Rapid City shimmered on the horizon like a distant mirage that one of us said anything.

"So um…what was that thing?" Hisato asked.

"I'm not sure, but I think..." Anthony trailed off, tightening his grip on the wheel.

"What? You think it was what?" I didn't mean to prod, but after what I had just seen, I was in no mood for people to start beating around the bush.

Shivering, Anthony replied, "I think it was a skin-walker."

Skin-walker? Just what the heck was that?

Sensing our confusion, he explained, "They're Native American entities. I don't know much about them. Shit, I…" he slammed his palm down on the steering wheel, "I thought they were just ghost stories told to scare white people," he shook his head, "I guess I was wrong."

Hisato shuddered, "Did you see the way it looked at us? It felt like…like…"

"Like it was plotting our deaths?" I finished.

"Kind of, but why did it run away though? Couldn't it have killed us?"

Shrugging, I looked at Anthony. I hoped he had answers. This was way out of my league. Anthony stared straight ahead at the growing cityscape. Orange lights turned his skin a brushed sepia. He swallowed before speaking.

"This is just a theory…but I think it ran off to get reinforcements."

I frowned, "What do you mean?"

"Hisato's right. Why did it run when it could have easily killed us?"

"You saw the shape it was in. Besides, I doubt it would have been able to take on all three of us at once."

The American shook his head, "Remember the way it took off? No limp at all, just graceful, fluid movement. Even though its chest cavity bore the brunt of the blow, it shouldn't have been able to flee that fast," he dropped his eyes to the hood of the car, "besides, there was something in that cry. I don't know, it just felt like it was calling out; and that second one from deeper in the woods didn't help much either."

I thought back to that figure I had glimpsed watching us leave. A knot of fear wormed its way through my stomach. The rest of the way was spent in silence. We pulled up to Anthony's apartment a short while later. I'm not sure about the other two, but I didn't get a wink of sleep that night. Every time I closed my eyes, I kept seeing that skin-walker creature standing before us, dead eyes glowering at us. And that scream. It echoed in the far corners of my mind, chilling me to the bone. Had it really been calling out? Alerting its monstrous kin to our crime? The figure by the roadside flashed through my mind. It couldn't have been the one we hit. True, it had been fast, but not that fast. Chills threaded through my spine as Anthony's words repeated themselves. Suppressing a shudder, I rolled over and waited for morning.

* * *

The next day we stopped at a new age shop downtown and bought white sage smudge sticks. According to the small amount of information we had been able to find, burning the smudge sticks would cleanse the taint from the car and protect us. I wasn't sure whether to put stock in the words of some anonymous person floating around the internet, but it was the best advice we'd been able to find.

Our vacation continued uninhibited, but we made sure to be back in Rapid before nightfall. No one said anything, but I suspect we were all waiting for the skin-walker to show up. Still, we were able to shove our lingering fear to the back of our minds and enjoy the terror-free attractions South Dakota had to offer. Come one week later, and Hisato and I had boarded our return flight to Japan. It's been a couple years since then, and while Hisato no longer lives with me, I still think about him and Anthony from time to time. Mainly I wonder how Anthony was able to get on after the encounter. I don't know about him or Hisato, but the sight of that monster has sure stayed with me. I'm very careful when traveling lonely stretches of highway late at night; and I'm always on the lookout for something sitting in the middle of the road.

* * *

 **Side note: I know skin-walkers are more common to Navajo folklore, but I kind of wanted to shamelessly promote my home state.**

 **I apologize for the long-winded update. I've noticed with Kurama's I try to make them more prose-like than just a short blurb told around the campfire late at night. Anyway, let me know what you think! Good? Bad? I'd love to hear from you.**


	6. Mitarai: The Maze

**Hello hello everyone! Thank you for stopping by! I do apologize for the slow update schedule. Classes hit the ground running this semester, and so my days are filled with equations and proofs. At any rate, please enjoy this latest installment.**

 **Disclaimer: I've said it before, and I'll say it again: If I owned it, I wouldn't be here.**

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So, anyone out there ever heard of the deep web? If you answered no, then congratulations! You are among the vast majority of the populace that has managed to retain your innocence as well as some modicum of faith in your fellow man. If you answered yes, then…I don't need to explain myself do I? However, since I'm here, I might as well give a quick explanation. The deep web is a part of the internet only accessible through a browser called Tor. It's home to a slew of questionable activity such as drug trafficking, child porn, and even the occasional snuff film. While most accounts of the deep web are exaggerated, there's more than enough true material on there to make you think about how screwed up some members of the human race can be.

I'd heard about the deep web while browsing through some random forum late one night. Users on the forum were sharing their stories, most of them talking about how they were able to score weed or other drugs. Others described these things called crush vids. I won't go into detail, but suffice to say if you're an animal lover, don't watch them. Ever.

Intrigued, I decided against my better judgement to go ahead and download Tor. It took a while before I mustered up the courage to access the deep web. Once I did however, I was less than impressed. A lot of the links I clicked on ended up taking me to dead pages, while others sent me on an endless clicking spree, following some virtual yellow brick road without the castle at the end. Now, I'm not someone who enjoys morbid content, but I couldn't help but feel disappointed. Everyone else had something creepy to share, and here I was stuck on a cyber path to nowhere. Still, I was not to be deterred. Navigating back to the main page, I scrolled down and clicked on a random link.

This time I managed to end up on a website. A cursory glance revealed a black page consisting of two lines of text and a link a little further below. I frowned. The page was so basic it took me aback a little. Truth be told, I was relieved not to have landed on some obscure child porn site. I think I would have exited right then and there. However, it didn't dispel my confusion. The lack of images and a description gave off an impression that whoever made the site either didn't know too much about making a web page, or just didn't care. The site was simply titled 'The Maze'. Beneath that were a couple short phrases which read as follows:

 _Banished into the dark. Will they find their way out?_

My stomach fluttered a little. Maybe I'd found something after all. About halfway down the page was a link labeled 'videos'. Clicking on it, I was directed to the page that contained said content. There were about twelve or so videos in total. No descriptions, no timestamps, the thumbnails just plain black screens. The titles were about as unoriginal as you could get: Video_001, Video_002, stuff like that. I scrolled up and down the page, trying to get a feel for what might be in the videos. At this point I felt more curious than creeped out. Was the person who created this site being intentionally vague or was this all just an elaborate gag? Well, only one way to find out. Scrolling back up, I clicked on the first video.

After a few seconds of blackness, the video began. It opened up in a dark room. In the far back, I could just make out the form of a person lying face down on the floor. A strange green tint coated the surface of the room, fading to black the further away from the camera's view it became. It took me a second to realize that I was seeing through a night vision filter. I glanced back to the person laying just within reach of the camera's enhanced eye. From what I could see, they were face down and hadn't moved. I couldn't discern their gender or even their clothes. I could feel my heart clench. Was I watching the aftermath of a snuff film? Recalling the lines of text on the homepage, I shook my head. This person had to be alive. At least I hoped they were. Sure enough, after a couple minutes, I noticed the person twitch. Their head swiveled to face the direction of the camera. Two bright dots in the middle of a shadowed face told me they were awake. I watched them blink a couple times, no doubt trying to regain their senses. As they sat up, I caught a flash of long hair tumbling over their shoulder and could just make out a feminine voice mumbling something.

The woman stood up, stretching out her hands and fumbling around. She took tiny steps, reminding me of a geriatric with terrible knees. I watched as she crept through the room, only being able to see her shuffling feet which came closer and closer, nudging the flank of the camera and almost stumbling over it. Once she regained her balance, she crouched down on the floor and probed her fingers along the ground. Like blind white snakes, they caressed the camera, a couple of them stealing across the screen and blocking my view. She picked up the camera turning it over in her hands. At this point, I was able to hear her voice. Small, wavering, and strained by terror, it was obvious she was doing all she could to keep the panic at bay. Eventually, she managed to find the viewfinder and peered through it. Now, able to see where she was going, the woman strode forward, returning the spot where she'd woken up. Nothing but bare floor and cold stone walls. A quick glance up revealed a pock-marked stone ceiling a few feet up. Was this somewhere underground? It had to be. I couldn't imagine any buildings like that.

Turning back around, the woman walked over to where she had found the camera. Unlike the previous area, a black, gaping maw stretched backwards from where she stood, beckoning the young woman forward. She stopped and I could hear her shaky, petrified breathing.

"Hello?" She called out. Her voice bounced off into the darkness before her, returning as a faint whisper of sound. A sob hitched in her throat and she stood there for a moment, before taking a deep breath and walking forward into the tunnel. A couple times, she tried to put the camera down, but without any ambient light, she wasn't able to see. Without the night vision, she would have been wandering blind. After about five minutes of walking down the eerie corridor, the path split, one tunnel heading right, while a smaller one twisting off towards the left. The woman stopped and stared at the fork in the path. The camera jerked back and forth as she tried to discern which one would be the best option. Before she could choose, something moved far down in the inky depths of the right-hand tunnel. A quick blink of white movement followed by a shuffling noise. With a muted yelp, the woman scrambled down the left-hand tunnel.

With heavy, panicked breathing, she stalked down the smaller tunnel. The walls seemed to press in and the ceiling dipped in places. It was like seeing the inside of a tube as it was being squeezed. Every now and then, the woman would stop and look behind her, no doubt checking to see if whatever had been in the right-hand tunnel was following her. It wasn't often, but a couple times, I thought I had heard something. Some small noise vomited by the darkness, but always too far and too faint to be sure. However, the woman, with the frantic certainty only the terrified can have, became convinced that she did hear something.

After about the fifth or sixth time of this, she whirled around, "What do you want?!" she screeched, "leave me alone!" the last part of her sentence devolved into a choked sob. The camera bounced as she wept, the ebon oculus staring back, its empty, cold gaze making my heart thud against my ribs. What was going on? What was happening to this poor girl? How had she gotten here? Where even was the tunnel system in which she had found herself?

Before she could turn back around, a loud scuffling noise issued from the darkness. From far back in the tunnel, something flashed, a speck of white, growing larger and larger now accompanied by loud thumping noises. Footsteps. Running footsteps. As it came closer, the figure became more defined: a barrel chest sporting long limbs and a round head. Large, round goggles perched in the figure's face, giving it a ghoulish appearance as it shortened the distance between the two of them. With a cry, the woman turned on her hell and sped down the tunnel. She only made it a steps before she was grabbed from behind. A sharp scream pierced my eardrums like a needle. The camera thrashed around, blurred images of the walls, the ceiling, kicking feet held off the ground. A terrified eye, unable to land on an image for more than a second or two at a time. A sizable, gloved hand clamped down on the camera and snatched it from the terrified girl, ending the maddening show. Muffled sounds of a struggle still dripped through the flesh filter. Small futile thumps as the woman tried to hit her attacker, subdued screams and wails, and a deep grunting as the person handling her fought to hold her still. A bone-crunching thud brought it all to an end. I stared at the darkened screen, straining my ears to try and catch some small snatch of sound that might be hiding under the thick blanket of quiet. Eventually, a clattering sound made me jump. The screen went from black to white as the hand unfurled its fingers and released the camera. Both the camera and I were forced to stare at a wall as a dragging noise hissed out of my speakers, fading as it drifted off into the distance. When silence had once again claimed the immediate area the video ended.

For the longest time, I sat in front of my computer, unable to do anything else but stare at the screen in shock. When I managed to compose myself, I went back to the page that listed the videos. Without a second thought, I clicked on the second video. I hoped that the girl from the first one would be in there. I hoped that she was still alive. My heart sank when the video began. It opened on the same room from before, only this time the camera had been moved closer to the wall. Across the floor, a man lay on his back. Propped against the wall just behind him was the woman from the first video. While the slight distance made it hard to determine the exact state of her body, there was no mistaking the lop-sided dent in the top of her skull and the dark stain that marred the upper left side of her face. On the floor, the man grunted and began to stir. My stomach twisted and I closed the video. I exited the Tor and haven't been back on the deep web since. I've tried on a couple of occasions, but have been unable to dive into those dark waters a second time. I'm not sure who the person at the end of the first video was, and I have no idea how they found their victims or where those tunnels were located, if they were natural or even man-made for that matter.

That second line of text still sticks in my mind. The number of videos in total, the unknown length of the maze, the woman's body sitting against the wall dead and broken. She didn't find her way out. Did any of the others?

No. I don't think they did.

* * *

 **Phew! I managed to get this out before Halloween (barely)! Well, what did you think? Originally I was going to give this chapter to Koenma, but I thought that given that Mitarai was forced to watch the Chapter Black tape, it seems fitting to make him view the dark side of humanity once more.**


	7. Hiei: The Creature in the Woods

**Hey guys! Welcome to chapter seven! I realize it's taken me a while to get the chapters posted, and I do apologize for that. Now, on with the show!**

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A few years ago, I lived in a small town that bordered a large national forest. My home life back then was pretty bad. Dad was gone and Mother died soon after my sister and I were born. My mother's sister, who was looking after our grandmother at the time, took us in. This did not set well with the old woman. A vile shrew of a woman, my grandmother hated me. My sister was fine, but I was not. In her warped mind, my mother's death was my fault. This view of me resulted in constant efforts to drive me away. My aunt and my grandmother often got into arguments over this behavior. Sometimes my grandmother would hit my aunt. There were a lot of nights my sister and I heard her cry herself to sleep. My sister and I clung to each other. We were all we had. But sometimes, it was all too much for me. Wanting to escape the chaos surrounding my life, I would often sneak out at night and go for short hikes in the woods nearby. Unlike most people, I was never afraid of the dark. Instead I found the nightscape of the forest peaceful and soothing. Just something about seeing the leaves painted silver by the moonlight, contrasting with the ebon shroud worn by the trees. The serene stillness, broken here and there by the occasional night insect. I found the night time to be far more pleasing than the day.

At any rate, I laid awake one particular night, no longer wishing to contemplate the possible outcomes of a vicious argument I had overheard. After three hours of waiting for sleep that refused to come, I crawled out of bed, got dressed, threw on a jacket and snuck out of the house and into the night. The first few moments outside were always the most nerve-wracking. Like I said, I lived in a small town, and as is the case in all small towns, if someone were to see me walking the streets in the dead of night, word would have gotten back to my family, and that drama was the last thing I needed. Thankfully, no one spotted me strolling through the streets on the way to the woods.

I never took a flashlight during my outings. Sure, a light would have made it easier to see on some nights, but it just felt strange to me. To be basking in the midst of nature in her most raw, untamed moments and bring a piece of modern technology along? Blasphemous. I did make sure to take a pocket knife though. Just to be safe.

I strode through the empty streets. Not a single soul passed me by. Cars huddled in driveways and doors were shut tight. I hopped a nearby fence and crept through a neighbor's backyard. My shoes crunched over bald patches in the grass. A ratty swing set stood off to my left. Rust ate away at the metal beams while the only swing not lying in the dirt clung to its left chain, right side hanging above the unyielding ground. Crumpled beer cans littered the area near the porch. I glanced between the swing set and the cans. Looks like I wasn't the only one haunted by my home.

I made my way across the yard, swift and silent. Months of these excursions had perfected my stealth to a level an assassin would envy. Once I'd reached the other side, I clambered up the back fence, and hopped onto the ground. I looked up. Before me, loomed the forest. I looked up at the trees as I approached. Large, ebon spears stabbing at the night sky, stars caught on the edges of the blades. Shrubs and wild grasses formed a barrier around the tree line, a natural wall erected to keep man's dirty fingers from sullying the earthly splendor. I stopped a few feet short of the woods. No matter how many times I hiked into the woods, the sight of it always filled me with awe. To me, pine forests are the epitome of beauty.

I glanced back towards town. All the little houses slept, their porch lights off and their windows dark. The empty road gleamed quicksilver under the light of the full moon. Satisfied, I turned around and dove into the woods. It was a warm spring night, but inside the trees, the air felt cool and dry. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, inhaling the scents of the forest. The deep, woody aroma of pine, the fresh undergrowth that had sprouted after the rain, the thick scent of the soil. A tranquil feeling spread through me. My anxiety, my agitation, it all melted away, rolling off my mind, like water off a duck's back. I don't regret those nights, they helped me during a turbulent time. I do however, look back at them through a much more cautious lens though.

After a couple minutes of meandering, I found an animal trail that wound its way deep into the forest. Normally I just wandered through the undergrowth, blazing my own trail, sticking close to the edge of the forest, but not that night. I wanted to escape everything going on around me. The turbulence, the confusion, the doubt. And so, without any hesitation, I took my first steps on that dark little trail. It was long and didn't seem to have any particular direction other than further into the woods. Sure, there were many twists and turns, but it never stopped beckoning me deeper into the shadowy belly of the forest. I had been walking for about an hour when I noticed it getting progressively darker. I glanced up to find that the tree cover had thickened. Branches interlaced above me, their leaves overlapping each other, forming a dense carpet where only faint slivers of moonlight poked through. Looking ahead revealed the path before me to be even darker than my current surroundings. The moonlight reduced to mere pinpricks in the foliage, dripping light onto the ground in tiny puddles that did nothing to illuminate the path. Just a few feet beyond lay absolute darkness. An ebon eye that peered into my very being. I peered back, my mind quoting that infamous line from Edgar Allen Poe's _The Raven_. You know the one,

 _"Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there, wondering, fearing…"_

Shaking my head, I turned my back on the pocket of shadow. I came out here to feel at ease, not to doubt and dream dreams that no mortals dared to dream before. Instead, I went right. If my memory served, there was a clearing somewhere in that direction. I continued my trek through the forest. Eventually, I came upon the clearing. Its size was decent, about fifteen feet or so in diameter. Grass swayed in the gentle breeze. With no tree branches to block their share of sunlight, the grass had grown tall. Thin green blades scratched at me as I trod through the green plant lake, their soft tips poking at my midsection. Like I said, the grass had grown tall. I strode towards the center and looked up. Dark, star spotted sky hung above me, draping over the tree tops like a discarded piece of jewel studded cloth. In the corner of my vision, I could just make out the trees. They ringed the edge of the clearing, standing proud and tall, ancient soldiers of Gaia. I laid down, still staring up into the sky. Stars burned crystal fire in the high dark. The moon peeped out from behind the top of one of the many trees standing sentry around me, leaving only a half disk of light spilling down. Content, I closed my eyes. Cool wind brushed over top of me and the grass whispered its secrets.

I laid there, at peace with myself. Hell, I was at peace with the whole damn world at that moment, chaotic home life included. Every worry that hung on me like a thick steel necklace slid off the moment I laid down in the clearing. I sighed, my breath mingling with the wind. All was well. No matter what happened in my life, nature carried on. Vile words could be sluing back and forth, an object could be thrown, but the wild did not care. I was but a speck, a tiny dot upon life's canvas. These thoughts brought me comfort. They minimized the anxiety. Washing over the burning fear with the cool realization that in the grand scheme of things, the present did not matter.

The wind died and the grass fell silent. The clearing stood frozen, as if it were but a mere painting. The grass blades ringed my vision, stiff and unyielding. Not even the stars twinkled from within their bowl of sky. I closed my eyes.

Loud rustling made me snap them back open. My eyes darted left and right. Nothing. Just a tiny forest of grass. Had I imagined that?

More rustling. No. I heard something. A fox maybe? I debated on whether or not I should stand up and investigate. If it was a fox, I should just let it be. No sense in scaring it off. The rustling came again. I laid there, listening. Something was indeed making its way through the grass. I imagined the fox, all bushy tail and bright red coat, sniffing at the ground, trying to figure out why it smelled a person this far out in the woods. Then a thought struck me.

What if it wasn't a fox?

My hand strayed down to my pocket, caressing the outline of the folded blade. This forest did have its share of predators. While nothing as dangerous as wolves, mountain lions, or bears, we did have quite a few of bobcats in the area. Healthy ones aren't known to attack people, but this one might have been sick or starving. A lone boy in the woods made for quite the repast. Slowly, I sat up, bringing out the knife as I did so. I heard grass rustling once more. I glanced towards my right. There. The animal was somewhere in that area. Worse, it sounded a little closer. I unfolded the blade. Its edge gleamed sharp and hungry in the moonlight.

I turned my head in the direction the sound came from. However, the tall grass kept me from seeing anything. If I wanted to get a good look at the bobcat, I was going to have to stand up. Damn it. I didn't want to reveal my location to a desperate animal, but I had no choice. Knowing its general location didn't do me that much good. Especially since it was en route to mine. Plus, if it decided to pounce, I wanted to have a chance to use my knife. Sitting didn't provide me that option.

Slowly, I rose to my feet, eyes locked right. Once I'd brought myself up to full height, I took a look around. A cloud passed over the moon and I cursed. Shadow stole across the area, engulfing me in an ethereal wave of black. My stomach dropped. I couldn't see the bobcat. But it could probably still see me. I strained my ears, trying to pick up even the smallest modicum of noise. Nothing. The animal held its position. My eyes fought in vain to pierce the darkness, searching for the shine of cat eyes.

I found them. I couldn't be sure at first, but when I saw them go out and come back again in a slow, steady blink, there was no mistaking. The eyes stared at me, I stared back. They were big and had sort of a wet shine to them. Damn. This cat was indeed sick. Which meant that it wasn't going to back down without a fight. I could try to outrun it, but bobcats are fast. Plus, if that cloud cover didn't lift, I would be running blind. I tightened my grip on the pocket knife. The cat peered back at me. Its eyes two glowing bulbs. It blinked again. Staring this long into its eyes, I almost got a feeling of intelligence. Like it was studying me. That made my heart jump. A look like that was unnatural in an animal.

Just then, the moon came back. Light bled back into the clearing. The darkness receded back beyond the tree line, and my chest seized when I saw what had really been staring me down.

It had large, bulbous eyes that gleamed a sick, wet yellow. Pale gray skin stretched tight across its emaciated body. Its head was dome-shaped and veins traversed the expanse of its skull like a network of thin blue spider webs. It had no nose. Just two small holes. Its mouth was drawn upward in what looked like a wide grin that stretched from ear to ear. If it would have had any ears that is. There were no lips. The skin just ended at the gum line in which crooked jagged teeth were crammed. Speaking of teeth, the damn thing had way too many, almost to the point where they overlapped one another.

It crouched in the grass on all fours, one limb stretched out in my direction. Apparently this thing had been crawling towards me while I lay in the clearing. My heart banged against my rib cage.

It stood up. Fear blasted through me. It stood on long, spindly legs. This thing, oh this thing was tall. I mean, I know I'm kind of short, being only 4'10, but I'd say that creature towered at least two, two and a half heads above me. Knobby scarred knees knocked turned outwards, giving off the impression that the thing was bowlegged. Its arms were just as long, ending in a large pair of hands with pointed fingers. When I say that, I don't mean that it had claws that made its fingers look pointed, I mean that the fingers themselves were pointed. Like whatever mad god responsible for this monster's creation decided to just slap skin right over the finger bones. Sweat slicked my palms, making it hard for me to grip my pocket knife, which at this point felt about as useful a calculator during an English exam. The damn thing might as well have been a toothpick for all the capability it had of defending me.

The creature opened it mouth and let out a slow hiss. I backed up a step, shoulders quaking in terror. All thoughts of fighting were gone. It dropped into a stance, spreading its legs and bending its knees. Panic crackled along my spine. _Oh hell,_ I thought, _this thing's about to charge me._ I turned and fled. From behind me I heard a short screech, followed by the steady thump of pursuit. I crashed through the tree line, sprinting in the direction of town. Back in the woods, the moonlight had little say. Thin swathes of silver that barely cut through the deep black that swelled around me. I had spent so much time in that bright clearing that my eyes were no longer adjusted to the low light within the woods. Trees, bushes, they were just silver streaked silhouettes that I had but a split second to react to as I barreled through the forest at full speed.

Guttural growls came from behind me. A rush of air tapped the back of my neck as the creature took a swipe at me. I kept running. My eyes still had yet to adjust. The darkness swam in my vision, pressing down me. For a terrifying moment, it blotted out even the outlines of the trees. Then, it relented, evaporating from my sight and I could see the path before me. Or rather, the large log that sat on the path before me. I had no time to react. So sudden was the shift from blind to sighted, that my brain couldn't process the image. My foot struck the log, and I tumbled over it. I landed on my back, the impact knocking the wind out of me. Yet somehow, I still held onto my pocket knife. And thank God because no sooner had I realized that then the creature leapt upon me. Its hands clamped down on my throat, pointed digits digging into the soft flesh. Fetid moist breath caressed my face as the creature hissed in triumph. It pressed its face close to mine, disgusting eyes boring deep into my own. As it began strangling me, I brought up the knife, slicing the monster's side. The thing yelped pain. But it didn't let go. Instead, it squeezed harder, as if my action had made it more determined to kill me. My ears buzzed. It sounded like my head was full of metal hornets. Dots swarmed my vision. Still, I wasn't going to die.

This time, I drove the blade into the beast's flesh, twisting and jerking. It felt like cutting through rotten fruit. Hot, foul smelling liquid burst from the wound. It was brown and smelled like pus. The thing screamed in agony. This time, it let go, leaping off me and ripping my knife out of my grip in the process. Gasping, I got to my feet. The creature stood a couple feet away from me, my knife still embedded in its side. With a single fluid motion, it ripped the blade from its flesh and threw it on the ground. Icy needles of fear pricked my heart. The creature glowered at me and took a step forward. Shit. Oh shit, shit, shit! I'd just lost my weapon, and this thing wasn't backing off. No, it was enraged and was going to murder me in the slowest, most agonizing manner possible. I couldn't run. I was still somewhat dizzy from the temporary loss of oxygen and knew I wouldn't get far. Desperate, I glanced around for something, anything I could use for a weapon. Nothing. The thing took another step forward. The grimace on its face twisting once more into that ghoulish grin. It knew. It knew I was out of options. It drew closer, grin widening, no doubt delighting in my impending demise.

A sudden flash of anger coursed through me. White hot, it burned away all traces of fear. Up to that point, my life had been one cosmic joke. And this wretched monster was the last thing I wanted laughing at me. I glanced at the ground just behind the beast. My knife lay in a tuft of grass, the thing's blood drying on the blade. Like a bullet, I shot towards it. I guess the creature hadn't thought that I would be dumb enough to rush forward because it made no move to grab me. Instead, it spun around just as I snatched my knife up off the ground. I brandished it at the being, dropping into a fighting stance. We stared at each other. My heartbeat ticked off the seconds as they crawled by. The creature narrowed its eyes and snorted. I tensed, readying my knife. Before I could strike, it turned and darted off. I stood, listening, glancing this way and that, knife poised to attack. I wasn't ready to claim victory just yet. However, after a minute, it became apparent that the being had left in search of easier prey. I dropped my stance, but did not sheathe my blade. No pun intended, but I wasn't out of the woods just yet. I still had to get home.

I trotted back towards town, keeping my eyes and ears peeled in case that thing decided to come back. Every slight noise made me jump, every shadow was suspect. I don't think I calmed down until I exited the woods and found myself once again scaling the neighbor's back fence. I dropped to my feet on the other side. For a moment, I crouched there, looking at the small area of domestic discontent. Did these people even know what lived behind them? Did anyone in town? Had someone on this block looked out their window one night and caught a glimpse of the horror that lurked in the forest? It didn't seem real. A few hundred feet. That was all that separated my quiet town and that thing out there in the dark. Shaking my head, I crossed the yard and scaled the front fence. Once on the other side, I made my way home.

Like before, the streets were devoid of life. I made my way down the street and strode up the walk to my house. I nudged the door open, peering into the dark entryway. Nothing stirred. Breathing a sigh of relief, I stepped inside, shutting the door behind me. Silence rang throughout the house. Now that I was within my safe haven, I put away my pocket knife. Or rather, I tried to. The creature's blood coated the blade, making it difficult to fold. The crusted blood looked black inside the darkened house. As I inspected it, I saw that some of the blood stained the hilt as well. No wonder that thing decided to leave me alone. I wounded it deeply.

On cat's feet, I tiptoed into the kitchen. I left the light off, utilizing the moonlight that poured in through the small window above the sink. After scrubbing my knife clean, I folded it up, slipped it back in my pocket and crept upstairs to my room. Once inside, I flopped down on my bed, glancing at the clock on my nightstand. 4:45. In just over an hour, dawn would arrive. I rolled over and waited for it.

I never went back into the woods after that. I did continue my night time excursions, but I stuck to town. Some nights I would look out my window and into the woods, searching for the creature. I never saw it. To this day I don't know what it was. I don't want to know what it was. A year later my grandmother passed away. After we finished clearing her estate, my aunt took a job out of state and we moved. I still think back on that night from time to time. Was it just bad luck that I ran into that thing? Or had it been observing me ever since I started my night hikes? I'm not sure I want to find out. I got out of those woods with my life and that's all that matters.

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 **Okay, two years for the new chapter to come out… Sorry. But hey, what did you think? Drop me a line!**


	8. Amanuma: Finding Chinami-Chan

**Hey everyone! You know, I'm really stoked to see that there are people out there who like this fic! Let's continue on with another twisted tale of the macabre, shall we?**

 **As always, read and review! Your feedback means a lot to me!**

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Even though I'm what you would call a video game addict, I never got into mobile games. To me they were stupid, gimmicky things that only moms and little kids could enjoy. And in-game transactions? No thank you! I mean, I know normal games do this too (expansion packs and DLCs for example), but mobile games get way too greedy. And if they aren't full of micro-transactions, they're more boring than a Sunday afternoon spent watching grandma crochet her fifteenth afghan. Ooh! This one is _green_ instead of pink! Yeah, how charming.

So, yeah, I never gave mobile games a second glance, until I discovered Finding Chinami-Chan. Well okay, I didn't discover it, someone in my class did, but it didn't take long before a lot of my friends and classmates had downloaded the game onto their phones. The premise of the game was pretty simple, if a little spooky. It was played from a first person view, and had a set of directional 'buttons' in the far right corner you could tap to move your character in that direction. Holding your finger down over the buttons would make them run. Your goal was to search through a dark, abandoned location and try to find Chinami-chan before the in-game timer ran out. Now, who or what was Chinami-chan? No one really knew. You never actually saw Chinami-chan. You would walk through the location the game put you in, and try to track her down by listening for her giggling, which became louder the closer you got to her. If you managed to find her, the screen would go black and white text would pop up saying,

 _Congratulations! You found me! Want to play again?_

Followed by the option of either choosing yes or no. Choosing yes would start the game over again, but in a different location with a different amount of time on the clock while choosing no would of course end the game and close it out. The game had you search through four different locations, but they were all random and never in the same order twice. Sometimes, it would have you just play the same location over and over again, never switching, but this was named to be some kind of technical glitch that could be fixed by deleting the game and re-downloading it. The locations were as follows:

A subway station.

A school building.

A warehouse.

And last but not least, an ordinary house.

All locations were dark and abandoned. The game hit big at my school. It wasn't long before just about everyone in my class was playing it. I would hear students gossiping about in the halls and when lunch time rolled around, everyone got together to talk about the game. What location were they in? How long had it taken to find Chinami-chan? Who was Chinami-chan? Gosh, weren't the areas the game made you search in so creepy?

Gossip like that continued for a few weeks. I have to admit, the game was pretty good. Even the ease with which the game's titular character could be found didn't dissuade me from booting it up whenever I got bored. I think it was the mystery that gave it its appeal. No one knew anything about the premise of the game. Was Chinami-chan a person? Was she a ghost? Why was every location you searched for her in abandoned? Were the locations themselves significant? Or were they just normal horror fodder? And why did Chinami-chan giggle? What did she find so funny? And the biggest question: what happened if you failed to find Chinami-chan before the timer ran out? Everyone who played was determined to uncover the games secrets.

A few weeks later, one such secret was uncovered. One of my friends was playing the game late one night and had the brightness on his phone turned up because he's a bit of a wuss when it comes to playing scary games at night, when he noticed something interesting about the school location. In the auditorium hung a white banner with the words _Masai Academy for Girls_ written on it. The old girl's school located down on fFifth Street. The building closed in the late seventies due to redistricting, resulting in students being moves to one of two bigger co-ed school further in town. This new discovery got everyone talking. Soon enough, the names of the other available locations were revealed. The subway station: Kisayami station. The very first station to be used once the subway system was put in town. Like the hospital it was no longer in use. Something about electrical equipment never functioning right I think. The warehouse: Yun-Chen, an old textile mill. It got shut down after several scandals involving safety violations.

This whipped everyone into a frenzy. The fact that this game used real locations made it even more mysterious. The only location that could not be identified was the house. There was nothing specific on the inside that would set it apart from any other home, and you never saw an exterior view of the house. Many players, myself included, were at a loss. That location had to mean something.

As it turned out it did, but not in the way that anyone thought.

This new development happened just before the beginning of summer vacation. Junko Suzuhara, one of the first people in my class to play Finding Chinami-chan lost the game. She had been so busy trying to uncover additional clues that she failed to focus on the timer. She wasn't even close to Chinami-chan when it hit zero. According to her, she didn't even know she'd lost at first. There was no buzzing sound, she wasn't attacked by Chinami-chan, nor did any text pop up saying 'Game Over.' All that happened, she told a small group of us at lunch, was that the screen went black and then the game closed itself. Confused, she re-opened the game. At first, nothing seemed amiss. The game started up like normal, placing her inside the house. As Junko began her search for Chinami-chan she noticed something odd about the house. It had changed. The house had an extra bedroom and the kitchen was larger than it had been. Bright colorful magnets adorned the fridge and stainless steel kettle sat on the stove. The living room sported a fireplace and a large television. As Junko walked her character around the house, she couldn't shake the feeling of déjà vu. The place was familiar, she'd been there before. Upon investigating the extra bedroom she realized why.

It was her room. Somehow she was playing through a virtual version of her own house. Just then, she heard a faint giggle from somewhere in the room. Terrified, Junko closed the game and deleted it from her phone. She told us all to do the same. A few people did. The rest of us weren't sure if we believed her. No one else wanted to find out if she'd been telling the truth though. No one wanted to take that risk.

Over the next few days Junko became increasingly paranoid. According to a friend of hers, Junko claimed that she heard Chinami-chan giggling when she was home alone. She'd wake up in the middle of the night and feel eyes on her. Sometimes, she would catch glimpse of something darting away from the corner of her eye. Her parents thought she was just having vivid nightmares that bled into her waking hours. We thought she was trying to scare us. Meanwhile, the game started behaving oddly for others who still had it on their phone. The house level no longer worked. Upon generating it, the game would freeze up and then crash. Others reported that they couldn't hear Chinami-chan's giggling, as if she were no longer present in game. Whenever I tried to play, the timer wouldn't run. It would just stay frozen. I tried searching online forums to see if I could find any answers about why the game was bugging out, but to no avail. No one knew anything about the game. I tried looking up the game's developer, Crescent View. Nothing. No website, no email, no number. Nothing about the game made any sense.

Junko stopped coming to school. Her parents thought if they kept her home for a few days and made her rest, she would be okay. They were wrong. Three days after pulling her from school, her mother went to check on her. She found her daughter's body sitting in the closet. Blood dyed her nightshirt a deep crimson. A long, deep cut ran from neck to navel. Written above Junko's head in her own blood were the words,

 _I found you!_

 _-Chinami-chan_

Fear erupted through the student body. Everyone deleted the game from their phones after that. The police did an investigation into her murder, but couldn't find any solid leads. No one mentioned the game. Who would have believed us? The school held a memorial service. Junko's parents moved soon after. The game gained something of an urban legend status at my school. Kids dared each other to download the game again but no one did. I decided to try and do some research into the game. I went ahead and googled the game, hoping to find something. A lot of articles about Junko's murder popped up. I ignored them and continued scrolling. Eventually I came to a post on a horror game forum that talked about the game. The post was short, just one sentence long:

 _Don't play this game!_

Below that were a two links. Curious, I clicked the first link. It brought me to a PDF of a news article from back in the fifties. At the top was a grainy, black and white photograph of a smiling young girl.

"Chinami Yuno, age six, before her death." Read the caption beneath the photo. I blinked. Chinami? Was this…? Was she…? I read through the article.

 _The search has concluded. Chinami Yuno's head has been recovered. A few weeks ago, the body of a young girl was found stuffed into a foot locker in a restricted section of Kisayami Station._

Kisayami Station? That was one of the locations in the game. I kept reading.

 _The head was found in the textile mill located just north of town. Police have taken a suspect into custody. The suspect in question, thirty year old Jun Itsuki is a teacher at Masai Girl's School. A statement regarding a possible trail has not yet been released. A funeral for Chinami Yuno is set to be held this Friday at Crescent View Cemetery._

I backed out of the page and clicked the second link. This one led me to another news article. Instead of the formal tone of the one prior, the words dripped acidic rage. Chinami's killer, Jun Itsuki had been let go due to lack of evidence. The townsfolk had been up in arms upon hearing the news and ran Itsuki out of town. The author wished the man good riddance. I closed out of the article and sat back, thinking over everything. Masai Academy, Kisayami Station, and Chun-Yen. All three locations were tied to the murder of Chinami Yuno. All three locations were present in the game. But what did it mean? And what did it have to do with the fourth location in the game? Had some crazy individual read about the murder and decided to create a game based around said murder just so they could pull of a bizarre murder? No, that didn't make any sense. Assuming Junko had been telling the truth, how would someone have been able to update the game to where the house level was re-designed to resemble a specific person's house down to the last detail? How would they even keep track of who lost?

A little girl is murdered. Her killer goes free. I remember reading somewhere that if a person didn't receive justice for their murder, their spirit would not be able to pass on. Was that what the game was? The effect of a little girl's ghost denied justice who now sought revenge on the living. Fifty years is a long time for a ghost to wander the earth. Long enough for a ghost to grow restless, enraged, jealous of all the people who got to live a life she was denied. I sounded crazy, but the coincidences were just too many to ignore.

I tried re-downloading the game towards the end of the school year, only to find it had been removed.

Maybe that's for the best.

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 **Not too sure on this one. Let me know what you think.**


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